The Eye of Cardassia
by oxford-hamilton
Summary: Caught in the middle of a bungled robbery, Kirk is faced with helping an unusual jewellery thief who's seriously pissed off the Cardassians. Why did she save his life? And what the hell is the Eye of Cardassia? [Post-Into Darkness, sequel to Caspian X]
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
Where The City Meets The Sea**

Kirk fired at his attackers, ducking as shots were returned. He was outnumbered and help wasn't coming fast enough.

'Kirk to Enterprise – where the hell are you?' he shouted as a ray shot past his ear, singeing it.

Suddenly a hooded figure leapt past him and knocked over one of his attackers, stabbing them with a sword. Kirk continued to fire on his attackers, knocking one to the ground and shooting him between the eyes.

'Duck!' screamed the figure, and he knelt to the floor as her leg sailed over his head and connected with the attacker that had been sneaking up behind him. The figure then leapt over his back and continued to fight. Springing to his feet Kirk finally hit the attacker hidden high in the ceiling rafters, and watched as he fell screaming to the ground.

A burst of white pain shot through his head and he crumpled to the floor. There was a shout and he squinted through the pain as the hooded figure raced toward him and his attacker, the pair connecting with a loud crunch.

Unable to move, Kirk watched as they fought, gasping as the attacker knocked the sword from the figure's hand and ran her through with it. The figure screamed, but somehow managed to pull the sword out of her shoulder and rammed it through the attacker's throat.

Exhausted and bleeding, the hooded figure checked to make sure there were no other attackers, then dropped the sword and raced to Kirk's side.

'Are you ok?' she asked. He nodded groggily, but couldn't sit up yet. His head was pounding.

'Your shoulder,' he muttered. She waved him away.

'I'm fine,' she lied. 'Come on'

She put her good arm around him and pulled him to his feet. A loud beeping rang through the air as a Cardassian lobbed a flashing grenade at them. The pair turned and ran, the force of the blast throwing them through the air. They crashed through something the woman later realised was a window, and she clutched onto Kirk as they plummeted towards the ground.

Kirk's head fell onto her shoulder, he was out cold.

'You pass out now?' she screamed at him. The wind whipped around them as she pulled the comms off his belt.

'Help we're falling, beam us out of here!' she screamed into it.

'Who is this? Where is the captain?' replied a male voice.

'He's unconscious. My name is Nereida White, please hurry!'

'Negative, I need to speak to Captain Kirk'

'We are falling off a fucking building! If you want your captain to live then beam us up NOW!' she screamed at the voice.

The comms crackled, then her eyes burned as transporter light wrapped around them and the pair dematerialised seconds before hitting the ground.

Spock and Scotty watched as two figures slammed onto the transporter platform with a sickening crunch. Kirk groaned and rolled off the hooded figure, who now lay unconscious beneath him.

Bones ran in as two crew members helped Kirk up and rushed him to medical.

'What the hell?' Bones asked, examining her. Blue liquid was seeping from the hooded figure's head and shoulder. Blood. 'Oh great, she's a fucking mermaid'

He scooped the unconscious figure off the platform, her hood sliding off as her head fell back to reveal long sea-green hair which trailed along the floor as he raced to medical.

'Captain what happened?' Spock asked.

'The Cardassian's attacked me without warning,' Kirk explained. 'The girl saved my life'

'Who is she?' asked Bones, cutting away her shirt to tend to her shoulder.

'I don't know,' said Kirk. 'But a wound like that should've killed her'

'Nah these damn mermaids have hearts on the right hand side,' said Bones as he bandaged her up.

'That's a bit racist Bones,' said Kirk, finally inspecting the girl's face. 'What did mermaids ever do to you?'

Her eyes flickered open for a second and Kirk had the strangest sense of déjà vu staring into her bright green irises.

'They're too slippery, it's not right,' shuddered Bones. Something glinted in her pocket and he pulled out a long sapphire necklace with a diamond pendant the size of an eyeball.

'Well, well,' said Bones, holding it up. 'Very slippery'

'That's the "Eye of Cardassia",' said Spock. 'No wonder they attacked you, they must've thought your visit was a distraction for the theft'

'So why did she help Kirk then? What is she, an honest thief?' scoffed Bones, handing the jewel to Spock before wrapping a bandage around the girls head.

'We must let the Cardassian's know at once,' said Spock. 'If they think Kirk and the Federation had something to do with the theft, then that makes us look very bad. Once she's up and about we'll turn her over to the Cardassian Legate'

'Spock she saved my life, we can't send her to the Cardassian's, she'll be executed!' protested Kirk. 'Can't we just send them back the rock and say she died in the escape?'

'They'll still believe we were accomplices, we can't risk it,' insisted Spock.

'Come on, they're logical Spock. And they respect the Federation, if we tell them she's dead they'll have to believe us,' Kirk continued.

'What if they want proof then?' asked Bones. 'We can't exactly send them her body'

'We'll say we had to burn her, cos she had some kind of aquatic virus,' Kirk suggested. Bones laughed.

'Captain, please this is getting ridiculous,' said Spock.

'No!' Kirk snapped, slamming his hand on the table. 'I'm not saying she's not made a very serious error in judgement in deciding to steal the jewel, but I can't send her to her death. I won't do it. And especially before she's woken up to explain herself'

'Capt-'

'And neither will anyone else on this ship, that's an order,' Kirk said defiantly. Spock finally gave him a curt nod, then turned and left without another word.

'You're making a mistake, Jim,' said Bones seriously. Kirk stood up and looked down at the sleeping Mermaid.

'Just tell me the second she wakes up, ok?' Kirk asked. Bones sighed, but nodded, and the captain returned to the bridge.

The next morning Bones found Nereida's bed empty, a trail of dark blood dotting towards the bathroom. Pushing the door open he jumped back as water poured over his shoes. The mermaid was lying face down on the floor in a pool of blood and tap water, a dark green tail sprouting from her hips.

'Oh for fucks sake,' he muttered, kneeling down and turning her over. She was deathly pale and looked even worse than when he'd first seen her. She'd hit her head on the sink and the wound on her shoulder had torn open. Scooping her up again, he wrapped her in a towel and took her back to her bed. Her eyes flickered and she groaned as he settled her.

Throwing a towel over her tail so he wouldn't have to look at it, he turned back to her as her eyes flicked open.

'Where - I?' she whispered, her eyes struggling to focus on the figure in front of her. 'Oh my head'

'You're on the Enterprise, you're in the custody of Starfleet,' he said, giving her a painkiller and slowly the throbbing in her head faded to a dull ache.

'Captain,' she said. 'Need – talk – Captain'

'Shh now you need to rest,' he said. 'The Captain is alright, you saved him'

He gave her a sedative. 'Just relax'

'No- sister – trouble – Capt...,' she tried to protest, slurring the last word as she collapsed back onto the bed unconscious. Bones jumped as her tail shrank back into legs in the blink of an eye, causing the towel to slide off. Averting his eyes he covered her with a blanket and left her to sleep...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Dirt Whispered**

Three days earlier

Nereida knelt down and pressed her ear against the ground, listening. She concentrated for a minute, but there was nothing. They were definitely alone.

'Reidy?'

She looked up at her younger sister, Shar, and shook her head. 'We're safe'

'That didn't stop them last time,' Shar said, sitting beside her.

'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have dragged you into this,' said Reidy.

'It's not your fault,' Shar soothed. Reidy said nothing, but she knew it was a lie. It was all her fault.

'We'll keep running, hitch a ride with a trader and get off planet,' Shar said. 'Everything will be fine'

Reidy laughed and shook her head. 'It's not that easy, Shar. Bloom won't stop looking for us, not until he gets what was promised him'

'You had no choice when you promised that,' Shar said. 'He was going to kill mother'

'Yeah and she died anyway, what was the fucking point of delaying?' Reidy responded. 'He'll get what he wants'

'No he won't'

Reidy laughed again, a mix of humour and absolute terror. Her little sister was so naive.

'Of course he will,' she replied. 'And once he does we're all fucked'

'Such negativity ladies'

The pair spun around and stared up at the hulking figures behind them in horror. Bloom and his cronies.

Nereida pushed her sister behind her and stood defiantly in front of him.

'Your spidey senses are a bit rubbish out of the water, aren't they?' he teased, pulling a silver flask out of his jacket. 'You're looking a bit parched actually'

'Shar, RUN!'

Her sister took off across the desert as he threw the contents of the flask over Reidy. She screamed as the liquid burned her chest, the bottom half of her body fusing instantly

into a tail, making her slam into the ground painfully. She was helpless.

'Reidy!'

'Run!' Nereida screamed again. Her skin felt as if it were on fire. Bloom knelt in front of her, dripping the liquid onto her face, and eliciting screams with each drop. When he finally stopped she heard muffled screams in the distance and she knew Shar hadn't gotten away fast enough.

'Let her go,' Nereida demanded, finally exhausted of running. 'I'll get it, I swear'

He chuckled. 'And why on earth should I take you at your word? I think we both know you're full of shit'

'Leave her alone and I'll get you anything you want,' she begged. 'Just don't hurt her'

Two thugs dragged Shar back to Bloom, who stood and inspected her. Her dark blue hair masked her face and the blood that was congealing down her chin.

He turned back to Nereida and threw a comms at her.

'You've screwed me around long enough. Call me when you've got it,' Bloom instructed. 'You've got a week, or she dies'

Bloom pushed a button on his wristguard, and the four figures in front of her disappeared in a flash of light.

'SHAR!'


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Best Laid Plans

_Now_

Reidy's eyes fluttered open slowly, squinting against the harsh fluorescent lights. She tried to cover her face, but her wrist couldn't move. She opened her eyes properly and looked down to see that she was handcuffed to the bed.

Biting back the pain, she reached up into her hair and pulled out a bobby pin. Fiddling with the locks, a minute later there was a soft click and her wrist was freed. She sat up quietly and swung off the edge of the bed, pulling on her jeans and shirt, tucking the scratched looking comms into her pocket. But where was the Eye? She checked all her pockets and the floor around her, but there was nothing. Fuck they must've taken it.

Poking her head around the corner she saw no one, just several sleeping figures on cots. Hanging up by the door were several blue medical jerseys. She pulled the smallest one on over her shirt and exited into the corridor.

She had no idea where to go. Voices echoed up the corridor and she ducked into an alcove.

'From what I've read they can heal themselves in salt water,' came a familiar sounding voice. She peeked out to see the doctor talking to the yellow-shirted guy she'd saved yesterday. 'But when I tried saline solution on her wounds it burned her'

'You mean she's allergic to seawater?' asked the yellow shirt. The doctor nodded. 'How is that even possible, she's a mermaid!'

'Freshwater mermaids are kind of like albinos in humans, only much, much rarer,' replied the doctor. 'I looked it up, there's only been about five of them in the last thousand years'

'She tried to heal herself during the night and, but hit her head on the sink. She looked even worse when I found her this morning, so I secured her to the bed so she couldn't do it again,' continued the doctor. 'Did you have any luck with the rock?'

'Not yet, Spock is getting it analysed to make sure it's authentic, then we'll return it to the Cardassian's,' replied the yellow shirt.

'Come on, the sedative I gave her should've worn off by now, you can ask her for yourself,' said the doctor, and the pair disappeared into the med bay.

Knowing her absence would soon be discovered, Reidy raced down the hall as fast as she could manage. She had no idea where she was going, or even how long she'd been out for. Maybe she was too late.

'Hey!'

She turned to see the blonde, Kirk was it? He walked towards her slowly, but began to sprint as she took off down the hall. He overtook her easily, ducking as she swung a punch at him. They stumbled into an empty room.

'Calm down, we're not here to hurt you!' he said, ducking again as she swung at his head. 'I just wanna talk to you'

She didn't believe him, they'd already tied her up once and they'd do it again. Spotting the phaser on his hip, she slid expertly between his legs and snatched it, aiming it at his head.

He raised his arms.

'Look, Nereida, I know you don't wanna hurt me,' said Kirk slowly. 'You could've left me for dead before, but you didn't. You're a good person'

'I'm sorry, but I don't have time to explain. I need your help now and this is the fastest way to get it,' she said. 'Now please, take me to the Eye, then beam me off ship to Golos Prime'

'You're in a ship of 800 officers, you're surrounded. Whatever you're doing we can help, but only if you talk to me first,' he said. 'Threatening to kill me will only get you tied up again'

'My sister will die unless I give the men who took her that jewel,' she begged. 'I don't have time for your games'

'Who took your sister? We can help, we can talk to them,' he said.

'No, I just need the jewel! Look you can have the jewel back and send me to Cardassia with it, but I need to borrow it first. Can't you just help me without question, like I did for you?' she pleaded. 'Please?'

'Drop it!'

It was the doctor and a blue shirted Vulcan. Both had their phasers pointed at her, and behind them stood a group of burly officers in the same stance.

She begged Kirk with her eyes as she lowered the phaser and the officers wrenched her arms behind her back.

'Leave her, it's alright,' he ordered. 'We were just talking'

'Sir, are you sure?'

He nodded and dismissed the officers, leaving the doctor and the Vulcan behind. Bones helped her up cautiously.

'You have a death wish, don't you?' he chuckled. She went to reply, but he jabbed her quickly with a hyper spray and she passed out in his arms.

'You ok?' Spock asked Kirk. He ignored Spock and snapped at the Doctor.

'Dammit Bones, she was just starting to trust me,' swore Kirk.

'Forgive me for knocking out the people trying to kill you,' Bones said drily.

'How far are we from Golos Prime?' Kirk asked as he followed Bones back the med bay.

'A couple of hours at most,' said Spock. 'But why would we take her there? Since you insist on not returning her to the Cardassian's then I must request we keep her imprisoned on board until we can figure out what to do with her'

'She said something about her sister being in danger, and that's why she stole the jewel,' he said.

'That is not our concern, Captain,' said Spock. 'We have no proof what she's saying is true'

'I trust her, Spock,' said Kirk. 'She wasn't lying to me'

'Wake her up, Bones,' he ordered. He pulled out a comms and asked Scotty to have a shuttle made ready, and another call to the lab to have the necklace returned to the med bay.

'Captain...'

'Enough Spock, you have the Chair'

The mermaid was groggy, but sat up. Kirk clicked the handcuff back on her right wrist, locking the other around his left wrist and handing the key to Spock.

'We'll be back this time tomorrow with the jewel,' Kirk said.

'What do you want me to say to the Federation when they ask where you've gone?' Spock asked. Kirk grinned and shrugged.

'Training exercise, Captain'

He turned and walked off, dragging the half-unconscious girl after him.

'Why are you doing this?' she asked, surprised.

'I repay my debts,' he said. 'But if you lied to me, then I'll hand deliver you to the Cardassian prison planet. Do you understand?'

She nodded. 'Thank you'

'Come on'


End file.
